OFSTED
16 October 2024
Latest ungraded inspection
Latest published outcome
Standards maintained
SCHOOL DETAILS
About this school
School type
Academy sponsor led
Phase
Secondary
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
—
Local authority
Bedford
Trust
CHILTERN LEARNING TRUST
Census date
15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE
2025/26
School community
Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.
Total pupils
773
773 full-time ·
0 part-time
Female pupils
368
47.6% of pupils
Male pupils
405
52.4% of pupils
Free school meals
Pupils eligible for free school meals.
5.5 pts
above England
School
30.3%
Bedford
20.1%
East of England
19.7%
England
24.8%
English as an additional language
Pupils whose first language is not English.
6.6 pts
above England
School
26.9%
Bedford
23.1%
East of England
16.4%
England
20.3%
Young carers
Pupils recorded as young carers.
0.4 pts
above England
School
1.4%
Bedford
1.8%
East of England
1.7%
England
1.0%
Ethnicity
Largest recorded pupil groups.
White British
41.1%
318
Any other White background
17.2%
133
African
8.8%
68
Indian
5.6%
43
White and Black Caribbean
5.2%
40
Any other ethnic group
3.4%
26
Council, regional and national comparisons
are pupil-weighted using published school
census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS
2025/26
Special educational needs
Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.
Pupils with SEN
24.3%
188 of
773 pupils
3.5 pts
above England
England:
20.8%
England
14.8%
5.0 pts
above
England
6.0%
1.5 pts
below
PRIMARY NEEDS
Pupils
Most common identified needs
SEN comparisons are pupil-weighted using published 2025/26 Department for Education school-level data. Primary needs combine pupils receiving SEN support and pupils with EHC plans.
ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
2024/25
Key stage 4 outcomes
Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.
ATTAINMENT 8
Average attainment score
40.3
1.1 pts
above England
Latest published: -0.09 · 2023/24
Comparisons are averages of published school-level results for open schools. They are not pupil-weighted official local authority attainment rates.
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE
2024/25
Attendance profile
Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.
ABSENCE RATE
8.65%
Overall absence
Percentage of possible sessions missed.
2.43 pts
higher than
England
School
8.65%
Bedford
5.81%
East of England
6.17%
England
6.22%
ABSENCE RATE
24.42%
Persistent absence
Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.
8.60 pts
higher than
England
School
24.42%
Bedford
15.50%
East of England
15.39%
England
15.82%
ABSENCE RATE
3.49%
Severe absence
Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.
1.68 pts
higher than
England
School
3.49%
Bedford
1.52%
East of England
1.83%
England
1.80%
Council, regional and national
comparisons are averages of published
school-level percentages rather than
pupil-weighted official absence rates.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?
School context
Comparison with open secondary schools.
CAPACITY
Capacity utilisation
78.7%
13.6 pts
below England
Kempston Academy
78.7%
Bedford
88.6%
East of England
92.9%
England
92.3%
Benchmarks use open schools in the
same phase. Capacity utilisation is
calculated from published pupil and
capacity figures.